  Prices paid for goods and services must include the social cost of carbon.
BY JAYA RAMACHANDRAN
IDN-InDepthNews Service
GENEVA (IDN) - Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides are under increasing threat from climate change, warns IUCN, the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and volunteer experts in some 160 countries.
It is vital therefore that 192 countries whose representatives gather this December in Copenhagen "integrate the potential role that biodiversity can play in both mitigation of and adaptation to this urgent threat and optimize investments in nature that will pay dividends for generations”, says Sue Mainka, senior coordinator of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
"Armed conflict today is particularly prevalent in areas which are important for biodiversity,” adds IUCN’s senior science advisor Jeff McNeely. “When natural resources like water become scarce, conflict can arise. We need to manage nature, and the services it provides, properly to reduce such conflict.”
McNeely and Mainka are authors of the latest analysis of the state of conservation published Sep. 17 by IUCN. The book, Conservation for a New Era, outlines the critical issues facing humankind in the 21st century, developed from the results of last year’s World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.
Switzerland-based IUCN asks governments to consider that "governance of issues relating to climate change is not simply the purview of the UNFCCC and government parties".
LINKAGES
"The linkages between climate change and biodiversity require action in many other relevant international agreements," says the IUCN publication.
The Convention on Biological Diversity, for example, discusses the role of biodiversity for both sequestering carbon and adapting to climate change, while the conventions on wetlands (Ramsar) and desertification (UNCCD) deal with habitats whose effective management will contribute towards adapting to climate change in the coming decades, IUCN analysis affirms.
It continues: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) relates specifically to marine ecosystems, and recent research is indicating how important marine environments are in addressing issues involving climate change.
The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) deals with wide-ranging species that are likely to be influenced by climate change and therefore could support the adaptation process.
"Given limited resources and time, a critical issue will be to focus on more effective coordination of action across these instruments as well as providing strong enforcement and implementation measures," the authors of the publication point out.
Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction are complementary approaches, they note. Through the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, agreed four years ago in Japan, countries have committed to integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction through the identification of climate-related disaster risks, the design of specific risk reduction measures, and the improved and routine use of climate risk information by planners, engineers and other decision makers.
'SOCIAL COST OF CARBON'
It is vital, therefore, that States negotiating at the UNFCCC:
- Incorporate biodiversity concerns into all efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to inevitable changes, for example through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) and ecosystem based adaptation;
- Mainstream gender and rights-based approaches; and
- Consider the work carried out under the 'Hyogo Framework of Action' when designing and implementing adaptation plans and strategies.
"But the job does not belong to governments alone. In the wake of the financial crisis, initiatives to renew the global economy should also take advantage of the opportunity to de-carbonize that economy including development of innovative incentives, such as carbon markets, that will provide models for broader payments for ecosystem services," asserts Conservation for a New Era.
"Prices paid for goods and services must include the 'social cost of carbon' to reflect the impacts on climate change of the entire process of raw material supply, production, distribution and consumption," avers the analysis developed by McNeely and Mainka.
"This needs to apply to all countries including for exported products. Some have suggested that countries should levy a 'carbon tariff' on imports, to reflect any GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions associated with their production. Carbon taxes on imports may be unpalatable to some, but it can be argued with equal conviction that they are essential to the survival of the planet," the authors add.
They point out that protected areas have already demonstrated their value for conserving biodiversity that otherwise might well be lost. When properly designed and managed, protected areas can also provide the capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
"Conserving forest cover within protected areas could be a useful contribution towards REDD, provided the challenge of proving 'additionality' can be overcome, while landscape-scale management of ecosystems that include protected areas will be an important aspect of climate adaptation planning," McNeely and Mainka say.
They are of the view that efforts to mitigate climate change must ensure that alternative energy strategies, including the use of biofuels as an energy option, fully account for and guard against any associated negative impacts on climate, biodiversity and livelihoods.
The publication points to the 1972 Stockholm Declaration that stated that people have “the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being”.
The impacts of climate change will put at risk many of the basic elements that support those “adequate conditions of life” and therefore can be considered to affect human rights. Therefore, any actions taken in terms of adaptation should include consideration of human rights as an essential element.
This was also emphasized in a report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the request of the UN Human Rights Council. Released in April this year, the report discussed the relationship between climate change and human rights.
As IUCN president Ashok Khosla says in a foreword, Conservation for a New Era "examines the state of our natural resources today, the stage at which conservation stands, and the current trends in these".
Khosla adds: "It underlines the clear consensus that emerged from the World Conservation Congress last year, that IUCN’s heartland of species, protected areas and ecosystems work will now increasingly be a critical element for any societal strategy that can lead to a sustainable future. And it describes how the conservation community is responding to this challenge -- and opportunity." (IDN-InDepthNews/17.09.09)
Copyright © 2009 IDN-InDepthNews Service
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